Carl Sagan, the much-loved astronomer and science communicator, once recorded a message for future astronauts setting foot on Mars.
Sagan was a big supporter of the discovery of the Red Planet. Co-founder of The Planetary Society, he believed that we should visit the planet to study its analogues, to search for possible signs of life, and simply because of the romance of exploring Mars .
In 1996, shortly before he died of pneumonia on December 20, Sagan recorded a message for future astronauts who reached Mars.
“I’m Carl Sagan. This is where I often work in Ithaca, New York, near Cornell University. You can probably hear in the background, right nearby, a 200-foot (60 m) waterfall, which is probably – My guess – a rarity on Mars, even in times of high technology,” Sagan says in the recording.
“Science and science fiction have done a kind of dance over the last century, especially with regard to Mars. Scientists have made a discovery, it inspires science fiction writers to write about it, and many young People read science fiction and are excited and inspired to become scientists to learn more about Mars, which they do, which again leads to another generation of science fiction and science. And that sequence has played a major role in our current ability to get to Mars. It was certainly a key factor in the life of Robert Goddard, the American rocketry pioneer, who, I think, more than anyone else, helped us to get to Mars. Paved the way to real potential. And it certainly played a role in my scientific development.”
“I don’t know why you’re on Mars. Perhaps you’re there because we’ve recognized that we have to move small asteroids around carefully to prevent the possibility of impacting Earth with catastrophic consequences, and , while we’re out there in near-Earth space, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to Mars.”
“Or, maybe we’re on Mars because we believe that if there are human communities on multiple worlds, the chances of our extinction from a disaster on one world are much lower. Or maybe we’re on Mars because it’s fantastic science. Our time is opening up to a world of wonder about what can be done there. Or perhaps we are on Mars because we have to be, because a deep nomadic impulse has been built into us by the evolutionary process. Eventually we come , from hunter-gatherers, and for 99.9 percent of our tenure on Earth, we’ve been wandering. And the next place to wander is Mars. But whatever the reason you’re on Mars, I’m glad that There you are. And I wish I was with you.”
The recording, courtesy of The Planetary Society, which he co-founded, was sent to Mars, arriving aboard NASA’s Phoenix lander on May 25, 2008. It resides on an archival silica-glass mini-DVD on the surface, which the society expects will last for hundreds, or potentially thousands, of years.
(h/t: Gizmodo)